A total methanolic extract and its sub-extracts of Orobanche crenata (Forssk.) aerial parts were subjected to acute toxicity, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective investigations. The methanolic extract was safe upto 3 g/kg on mice. The EtOAc fraction reduced the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema better than indomethacin. It also demonstrated a drop in the elevated ALT, AST, and TB at 300 mg/kg, better than silymarin. Histopathological examination of liver cells of rats given the EtOAc fraction showed a complete absence of the CCl4-induced cloudy swelling. A phytochemical investigation of the n-hexane and EtOAc fractions yielded 11 compounds [indole-3-carboxylic acid (1), n-butyl palmitate (2), tyrosol (3), L-rhamnonic acid-1,4-lactone (4), β-sitosterol/stigmasterol mixture (5/5'), β-sitosterol/stigmasterol glycosides mixture (6/6'), chrysoeriol (7), luteolin (8), apigenin (9), crenatoside (10), and verbascoside (11)] as identified by UV, 1D & 2D NMR and ESIMS techniques. Their reported biological actions were in relation to and supported our herein detected pharmacological findings.
Keywords: anti-inflammatory; hepatoprotective; phenylpropanoids; LD50; Orobanchaceae; Orobanche crenata; sterols.